Recently I have been hearing a lot about how these annoying little trolls are bullying authors. There have been several of my author friends who have been bullied and put down by people who read their books/blogs.
It really annoys me that these people do nothing but criticize and belittle others.What ever happened to "If you can't say nothing nice, don't say anything at all"? Are these people so miserable that they have to tear down others? They drag people down to their level just to make themselves look better. It only makes them look bad!
Authors spend so much time creating their books. They takes months (and even years) to write a book. Then there's editing and revising, which takes hours upon hours. Promoting their books is a challenge. They spend a lot of time on social media and go to book signings (which means leaving their families for who knows how long). They kindly ask for reviews (good or bad).
It's through reviews that a lot of the problems are happening. Not only are these people leaving bad reviews, they are just getting mean and hateful. Some of them are even getting very personal. It's the same way with blogs. There are certain idiots who seem to think they can just leave nasty comments and nothing will be done to them.
A lot of these so-called human beings are getting away with what they're doing. I know this is America and we have this thing called FREE SPEECH, but this is getting out of hand. Why should people be allowed to treat others this bad? In my opinion bullying of any kind should be a crime.
It is not an accomplishment to hide behind a computer screen and make others miserable. It's nothing but cowardice. It makes you pathetic. If you aren't big enough to say something to someone, don't say it behind their backs.
If you don't like an authors book(s) just say so. You don't have to be a horrible person. And just because one person doesn't like an authors work, doesn't mean no one will. The negativity of trolls can help sell books too. It makes people see how these morons really are. I think that for every bad review an author gets, they get a dozen more good ones.
I don't understand why people have to be so cruel to others. I have never been able to be mean to anyone. I think you should show everyone respect. It's the only way you're ever going to get any in return. Putting others down to build you up only hurts you in the end.
Being a victim of cyber bullying myself, I know how those words can hurt. Some people are stronger than others and can take the criticism. While others fall into depression and think of suicide. (I'm talking more about the effects of bullying in general, than just authors being bullied). Bullying is not a victimless crime.
We need to put an end to this senselessness. Don't be a terrible, bitter person. If you're that unhappy maybe you should get some help. Don't use your problems as a way to to torture others. I refuse to sit back and watch any of my friends be bullied for any reason! If you know nothing about someone, don't get personal, that's it, end of story.
I've had it in the last couple of days, simply by asking someone at another blog why she had to consistently write such negative remarks. She went nuclear on me.
ReplyDeleteOne of the other bloggers said there's no point trying to engage her- saying anything to her just feeds her anger.
Some people are just plain miserable.